Technology

Online Years¹

Size
(mW)

Leadtimes
(Years)

Overnight  Costs²
in 2002 ($2001/kW)

Contingency Factors 

Total Overnight Cost including
Contingencies
in 2002⁴
(2001 $/kW)

Variable O&M⁵  ($2001  mills/kWh)

Fixed
O&M⁵ ($2001/kW)

Heatrate
in
 2002 (Btu/kWhr)

Heatrate
 nth-of-a-kind (Btu/kWr)

Scrubbed Coal Newl    

2006

600

4

1,079

1.07

1.00

1,154

3.07

24.52

9,000

8,600

Integrated Coal-Gasification Combined Cycle

2006

550

4

1,277

1.07

1.00

1,367

2.04

33.72

8,000

7,200

Conventional Gas/Oil
      Combined Cycle

2005

250

3

   510

1.05

1.00

  536

2.04

12.26

7,500

7,000

Adv Gas/Oil Combined
       Cycle

2005

400

3

   563

1.08

1.00

   608

2.04

10.22

7,000

6,350

Conv Combustion Turbine⁶

2004

160

2

   389

1.05

1.00

  409

4.09

10.22

10,939

10,450

Adv Combustion Turbine

2004

230

2

   439

1.05

1.00

  460

3.07

 8.17

9,394

8,550

Fuel Cells

2005

  10

3

1,850

1.05

1.10

2,137

20.43

7.15

7,500

6,750

Advanced Nuclear    

2007

1000

5

1,750

1.10

1.10

2,117

0.43

58.48

10,400

10,400

Distributed
       Generation -  Base

2005

    2

3

   766

1.05

1.00

  804

6.13

13.79

9,400

8,900

Distributed
       Generation -  Peak

2004

    1

2

   919

1.05

1.00

  965

6.13

13.79

10,400

9,880

Biomass

2006

100

4

1,569

1.07

1.05

1,763

2.96

45.94

8,911

8,911

MSW - Landfill Gas

2005

  30

3

1,365

1.07

1.00

1,460

0.01

98.42

13,648

13,648

Geothermal ^7,8

2006

  50

4

 1,681

1.05

1.00

1,766

0.00

71.75

32,320

31,797

Wind

2005

  50

3

    938

1.07

1.00

  1,003

0.00

26.10

10,280

10,280

Solar Thermal⁸

2005

100

3

  2,204

1.07

1.10

2,594

0.00

48.91

10,280

10,280

Solar Photovoltaic⁸

2004

    5

2

 3,389

1.05

1.10

3,915

0.00

10.06

10,280

10,280

¹Online year represents the first year that a new unit could be completed, given an order date of 2002.
²Costs reflect market status and penetration as of 2002.
³The technological optimism factor is applied to the first four units of a new, unproven design.  It reflects the demonstrated tendency to underestimate actual costs for a first-of-a-kind unit.
⁴Overnight capital cost including contingency factors, excluding regional multipliers and learning effects.  Interest charges are also excluded.  These represent costs of new projects initiated in 2002.
⁵O&M = Operation and maintenance.
⁶Combustion turbine units can be built by the model prior to 2004 if necessary to meet a given region’s reserve margin.
⁷Because geothermal cost and performance characteristics are specific for each site, the table entries represent the cost of the least expensive plant that could be built in the Northwest Power Pool region, where most of the proposed sites are located.
⁸Capital costs for geothermal and solar technologies are net of (reduced by) the ten percent investment tax credit.
Source:  The values shown in this table are developed by the Energy Information Administration, Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting, from analysis of reports and discussions with various sources from industry, government, and the Department of Energy Fuel Offices and National Laboratories.  They are not based on any specific technology model, but rather, are meant to represent the cost and performance of typical plants under normal operating conditions for each plant type.  Key sources reviewed are listed in the ‘Notes and Sources’ section at the end of the chapter.